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Effects of voluntary exercise on levodopa‐induced motor response complications in hemiparkinsonian rats
Author(s) -
Corpt Briana Jean,
OhLee Justin D.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.1053.5
Subject(s) - levodopa , medial forebrain bundle , medicine , dopamine , parkinson's disease , forelimb , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anesthesia , disease , striatum , anatomy
Research evidence suggests that voluntary exercise may be beneficial in restoring motor skills traditionally lost in Parkinson's disease (PD). Levodopa pharmacotherapy remains the most effective treatment for PD, but is often associated with the genesis of disabling motor response complications (MRCs). This study was designed to investigate the effects of voluntary exercise on these motor complications in 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) hemiparkinsonian rats. Adult male Sprague‐Dawley rats were rendered parkinsonian by 6‐OHDA injections into the left medial forebrain bundle. After two weeks, half of these animals received twice‐daily levodopa while the other half received twice‐daily vehicle. An equal number of animals in each drug treatment group underwent exercise (2 hrs twice daily, 14 days) after drug injection, and the other half served as controls. Voluntary exercise therapy when combined with levodopa acted to provide a substantially greater attenuating effect on the forelimb deficits ( p < 0.05) and the shortened motor response ( p < 0.05) produced by chronic levodopa therapy. These results suggest that mechanisms mediated by voluntary exercise could be crucial for an accurate understanding of the pathogenesis of motor complications and further suggest novel approaches to more effective and safer therapies of PD and other dopamine disease states. ORSP PRIF Grant, CMU, to JD Oh‐Lee